Living Keyhole
by Phantom-Shalnark
Summary: Set after Dream Drop Distance, spoilers. When the great Composer is finally revealed, Sora and his friends must bare arms once again in order to save their ally, before Xehanort can use him to gain control over Kingdom Hearts - and destroy everything Shibuya is. In the end, can there truly be a happy ending for a being controlled by their past? Please R&R, rated k-plus for safety
1. Ch 1: Lost dreamer

"Xehanort." The old man looked up from his chair. His office was very vacant, with only a large white table and three chairs. A giant window looked outside, with the perfect view of Kingdom hearts, shining brightly in the sky.

Entering through the almost invisible door, Ansem and Xemnas walked in, both wearing their black coats. "Take your seats." They obeyed, and silently sat down on opposite sides of the table. "Our recent findings?"

Ansem spoke up. "Sora has again answered the dreaming world, in order to become a Keyblade Master. Riku is now training, and Lea, the somebody of Axel, has now joined their side in the coming war."

Xehanort sighed. "And the other Master? She is...?" Xemnas smiled. "Still hopelessly lost in the darkness, and losing. Soon, she will be overcome by the darkness, along with Ansem the Wise. They are within our grasp, sir."

Xehanort smirked. "Perfect. Now, how shall we handle our little dreamer?" Ansem glanced at Xemnas. "Our last plan was interrupted by Lea, and those two idiotic creatures from King mickey's world. We must deal with them."

"Of course." Xehanort stood up, and rested his hands behind his back. "First, however, we have another problem to deal with." He walked over to the window, and stared out into the vast space, filled with the light of the Kingdom Hearts.

"Lea and those buffoons weren't the only interruptions." He turned to face the two men, who were carefully listening. "Sora and Riku would have been ours...had it not been for that one weasel in our plans."

Xemnas agreed. "Yes. We did not plan for anyone to be occupying Traverse Town when we transported the wielders there. It was a surprise to find that they became friends with those children from the other world."

Ansem closed his eyes in thought. "They weren't the problem, however. It was the stray one." Xehanort coughed into his arm. "Yes. The one who walked alone had the one who was saved by the dark Keyblade, and the one who was easily played with was the partner of the amnesic one."

"The fifth one, however, was the trouble. No partner to hold him down, no rules to follow, no one to answer to," He turned back to the window. "And now, we have our information. My younger self explained the situation before he returned to the past."

Xemnas and Ansem waited patiently for Xehanort to explain their new enemy. "...The Composer." He held his hand out, and brought it into a fist. "One of the most powerful beings alive, and he decided to ruin our plans."

" Not only did he mess with Sora and Riku's travels along our set paths, he created two new districts within the Traverse world, scared the dream eaters into ignoring him, messed with my younger form, and practically explained our entire plan to the wielder of darkness step by step."

He sternly glared at the table. "His treacheries were our downfall." Xemnas sat strait up. "What shall we do, Master Xehanort?" Xehanort grinned. "We take out the problem at the source. Guide Sora and Riku, and leave the rest...to me."

They bowed, and escorted themselves from the room. Xehanort sat back down, and slumped slightly into his chair. "...Kiryu..." He smiled. "Soon, we shall see just how omniscient you truly are compared to the power of the Keyblade."

* * *

"Wow!" Sora awed at the new world he had entered. All around him, businesses were bustling with new customers and visitors. People of all ages, sizes and colours passed by him, wearing the strangest clothes he'd ever seen.

"What is this place?" He looked back. "Huh? Hey, where are my dream eaters?" When he had entered the Mark of Mastery for the second time, he had been welcomed by all of his dream eaters, who travelled with him everywhere. However, they were now nowhere to be found.

"That's strange...oh, well!" He stretched. "I'll find them, or they'll find me." He began to walk around. For such a crowded place, be barely seemed to bump into anybody else. In fact, everyone seemed to completely ignore his presence.

"Hello?" He tried to ask where he was, but no one answered him. Finally, he came upon a young girl with bright red hair in a bun, wearing a yellow jacket, pink shorts and black sneakers. Her green eyes were covered by some blue shades.

"Excuse me?" She turned to face him, and he sighed. "Finally! I was wondering, do you know where I-" Suddenly, she walked right through him! "Huh?!" He spun around, and tried to grab her shoulder, but he passed right through her, like a ghost.

She walked away, and Sora felt a sudden ping of loneliness. "Where am I?" He sighed, and rested his hands on the back of his head. "Well, no point in whining. I'll find out myself!" He ran off, phasing through everyone in his way.

* * *

The Mysterious Tower was quiet at the moment. Donald and goofy had gone back to Mickey's kingdom to help clean up a strange mess that appeared in the front yard garden, while Lea had gone back to Ansem the Wise's Castle to report in on the others, who had woken up from being their nobodies.

Kairi was with the good fairies, trying to pick the perfect clothes to train in. Ever since she had found out she was a Keyblade wielder, she was all too excited to begin fighting alongside her friends. Riku found himself alone with Yen Sid in the top of the tower.

"Yen Sid," Riku began. "Do you think that Sora will be alright in the Mark of Mastery? Truly?" Yen Sid frowned. "I'm not entirely sure. Last time, you barely made it out with your lives. This time, Sora must be cautious."

Riku snorted. "Sora? Cautious?...Maybe I should have gone with him." Yen laughed. "Now, now, Riku, I'm sure that he'll be just fine. There's always someone who manages to lend him a helping hand. He'll find allies."

A large dark portal appeared beside Yen's desk, and Lea walked out. "Well, they're all alive, so that's a good sign, right?" He smirked. Riku smiled. He was more than happy to have Lea on their side. Now that he was a Keyblade wielder, too, he'd be a great ally in the coming war against Xehanort.

"Yes, that is a good thing, Lea." Yen sighed. "For now, we wait." He looked up at Riku. "Riku, you may do as you please, but be wary of the forces riding against us." Riku smiled. "Thank you, Master Yen Sid."

He turned to Lea. "Lea, I need your assistance." Lea cocked his head. "What for?" Riku looked out the window behind Yen Sid's chair. It looked out far into space, where a few small worlds could be seen blinking in the distance.

"...I told a few friends I would visit their world sometime soon." He grinned. "Since I can't control the darkness anymore, I can't portal there, and they're far faster than using the Keyholes." Lea chuckled. "...Fine. If I'm your taxi guy, make the call."

Riku laughed this time. It made him feel light inside. "Thanks, Lea. Oh, sorry about the whole 'Axel' thing, by the way." Lea waved his hands around. "Hey, I was the one who was always telling people to 'Get it memorized', right?"

Riku grinned even wider. "Well, then, we're off." He turned and bowed respectfully to his Master. "I won't be gone too long." Yen smirked. "Why do I have the feeling that won't be true?" Lea laughed. "Hey, we'll only be long because I'll keep getting lost."

Riku followed him through the dark portal, and it closed behind them. Yen Sid was alone in his office. He looked around. So much was happening all at once. Xehanort was rising, Aqua was still lost, Terra would soon be unreachable...and another young one was stirring. "Soon, Ven, soon..."


	2. Ch 2: Hachiko's nose

A dark portal opened in an abandoned alleyway behind the Ramen shop of Shibuya. Riku and Lea slowly made their way out, and gazed around. The alleyway was dark, cold and smelled of cooked noodles, covered in spray paint and empty boxes. "Well, here you are." Lea turned and entered the portal before Riku could thank him again. He wasn't into the whole 'being thanked twice' thing.

Riku sighed. Lea reminded him of himself. He used to be lonely, even with friends around. He hoped that Lea wouldn't turn out like he had. Even while wielding the darkness so efficiently, they couldn't take any chances.

He walked out of the alley, and looked around. Shibuya was a large city, filled with variety far more complex than any other world he'd ever travelled to. Colours, bright lights and logos surrounded him, almost suffocating him.

"How am I going to find them?" He started to lose hope, but something caught his eye. Inside the window of the Ramen shop he was beside, he saw a young girl about his age eating at a lone table. She seemed to be having a good time on a little device in her hand.

She had long pink hair down her back, and was wearing a brown cap with little buttons on it, along with a small pink top under a yellow half jacket, and Riku could just make out a green skirt with a brown bag hung around her waist.

"Shiki!" He ran inside, and slowly came up to her table. She looked up at him. "Um, hello there." He sat on the opposite side of her. She seemed to only be eating the noodles, so he wasn't disturbing her lunch too much.

"Long time no see." He smirked. She tilted her head to one side, and took a quick glance at the device in her hand, which seemed to be the source of a strange beeping noise. "What's that?" He pointed at it's light blue colour.

She seemed surprised by the question. "Why, it's a cellphone. The newest Space Chrome XS-05. It has ten new features, including higher ranged photo taking, and more room for ring tones. I heard about it on the 'F everything' blog of Eiji's."

Riku still didn't understand how it beeped, but he left it alone. "'F everything'? What's that? And...what's a blog?" She stared at him like he was a monster. Well... "You new here?" Riku smiled. "Well, when Beat and Rhyme told me to come here, they didn't tell me much about you world."

She looked like she was trying to read him. "Beat? Rhyme? Who on Earth are they?" It was Riku's turn to be confused. "You don't know them? Surely you know Beat? He's your friend, right?" She shook her head. "Never heard of either of them before."

He felt strange. This was new. "What about Traverse town, Shiki. Don't you remember me?" She stopped midway into taking another mouthful of her noodles. "What did you just call me?" Riku shrugged. "Your name. Shiki."

She put down the two sticks she was using to eat the noodles. "Uh, I'm not Shiki." Riku was shocked by the sudden news. "Wait, what?! But, you look just like her." She shook her head in disagreement. "No idea what you're talking about. Shiki has short black hair, brown eyes and has glasses. Also, she's always carrying around her Mr. Mew cat stuffy."

He almost forgot about Mr. Mew! "Wait, so, she looks nothing like you?" The girl grinned. "Now you're getting it, new guy. Cute and smart." He blushed. "Um, then, what's your name?" She played with the cellphone she was holding.

"My name is Eri. Shiki's one of my friends, though she's usually busy on the weekends with others." She pointed out the window. "If you want to find her, you should head towards the statue of Hachiko. You'll see her in no time."

With that, she cleaned up her table, and walked away, waving back at him. He stood up, and walked out of the store. "Well, that wasn't strange at all." He looked around. "...Where did she say the statue was?...Better ask for directions."

He walked around, trying to find someone who wasn't too busy to ask. Finally, he bumped into a taller man. "Oops, sorry, sir." The man turned around and smiled. "Nah, no biggie. In a place like this, it's bound to happen."

He was wearing black sandals slightly hidden under black dress pants. He had a two piece dress suit on, with a white dress shirt under a grey v-neck dress vest. He also had small black glasses. "Going somewhere important?"

The man looked down at himself. "No, I always wear stuff like this." He stuck his hand out, and shook Riku's. "The name's Sanae Hanekoma. You can call me Mr. H, if it's easier." Riku grinned. "My name is Riku...uh, no last name, or nickname."

Mr. H snickered. "Well, you should get one, then. It makes talking to people a whole lot easier. You can hide behind a nickname, sure, but its true meaning is that of a special bond with whoever knows your "Secret name."

Riku smiled, and gazed around. "Um, Mr. H?" Sanae followed his gaze to the centre of the bustling roads. "Lost, kid?" Riku nodded his head. "Well, where you heading?" Riku scratched his head, slightly embarrassed. "To some statue called...Hachito?"

Sanae laughed. "I think you mean Hachiko. It's a tall dog statue, after the same dog who waited patiently for his master to come back from the railways every day...even after his master passed away." Sanae chuckled. "Now that's loyalty."

He pointed out towards a pack of small trees. "Head west from those trees, and in a few minutes, you'll be right under the statue's nose." Riku nodded. "Thank you, Mr. H!" He ran off, waving goodbye. Sanae sighed.

He looked up into the sky. "Why Do I have a feeling this is your doing, Kid?" He then turned away and walked into the Ramen shop. He needed a break after dealing with a certain troublesome monstrosity. Why did they have to keep that mathematical hoarder around, anyways?


	3. Ch 3: Dino math

Sora entered into a long alleyway behind a large building in the city. There was no one around, so he had some time to think without being reminded of the fact that he was all alone. He passed a lot of graffiti on the walls.

There were different names spray painted in bright, vibrant colours of blue, yellow, red, green and many others. However, most of them had the same name on them; "CAT." Sora wondered how many cats he would find in this world.

"Wow, just like in Traverse town." Then, it hit him. "Neku! And Rhyme!...I'm in Shibuya!" He smacked his head. "Duh!" He glanced around. "I wonder where the others are. Maybe they're in the same situation as I am."

"Well, isn't this a surprise." Sora gasped, and turned around. A kid about his height was wearing a greyish blue button-down shirt, over some dark grey pants and white shoes. His sandy blonde hair let a few bangs hang over his smirking face and purple eyes.

"Joshua!" Sora ran over to him. "How's it hanging?" Joshua smiled. "It's hanging just fine, Sora." He flipped one of his bangs away, but it fell right back into place again. "You look lost. Welcome to Shibuya."

Sora clapped his hands together. "So I am in your world, aren't I?" Josh nodded quickly. "Yes. This whole world is a city, with various attractions and people to entertain you for hours on end. So, yes, you are in our world."

Sora grinned. "I knew it! So, Joshua, where are the others?" For just a split moment, Joshua let his guard down, and his smile faded. "Josh?" He quickly smirked again, ignoring his previous frown. "I believe they're somewhere near the centre of the city. We can take a shortcut through here."

He pointed towards the back alleyways. "Lead the way." He put his hands in his pockets. "Your adventure." Sora stuttered a bit. "Um, I don't know anything about this place, Josh." He snickered. "Come on, now, Sora. You're not scared, are you?"

Sora stuck his tongue out. "No way! I'm ready for anything!" He ran off, and Joshua chuckled. "Maybe this will be fun..." He walked closely behind Sora. He couldn't have the wielder causing too much trouble in his city.

He was so not ready for that. As Sora ran off, Josh quickly followed. However, once Sora turned what seemed like the eighth corner, he was almost hit by a large vehicle! He ducked under it, and rolled out of the way of another one.

"What's going on?!" Josh came out from the corner, and frowned. "Oh, great. You." Sora turned to see who Joshua was looking at. "Whoa. Who are you?" He'd seen other people walking around, but this guy seemed to be completely different.

"So zetta slow!" A tall guy about Lea's age was standing behind two large dream eater dinosaurs. He had black boots and torn grey pants, with a black coat on with a red bandana under his black hat. He grinned.

The area was covered in trash. Broken bottles, ruined cars, and other bits of plastic, paper and metal were sprawled everywhere around them. The strange man stood on top of the largest pile of trash Sora had ever seen, with two large dinosaur dream eaters on either side of him.

"Come on, pick up the pace, little man." Sora stood up. "I'm not a little man! And I'm not slow, either." Sure, the last time he had done the Mark of Mastery, he had taken his younger form, but he was just as he was this time round.

"Tsk...you're no fun." He then growled when Joshua walked up beside Sora. "What? Oh, man, you're here, too?" Josh sighed deeply. "Sho Minamimoto. What a surprise to see you here." Sora tried to take it in. "Sho...mina-what?"

Sho brushed back his short, messy black hair. "Sho Minamimoto. If you're too dim-witted to remember it for the last few minutes of your life, then just go with Sho, okay, punk?" Josh smirked. "Sora isn't the punk here, Sho."

Sho snarled. "Look, just don't go ruining my fun, got it? You get to do everything else, let me handle the outsider!" He waved his hands up in frustration. "You let the other orange haired loner get away, so I get to play with this one."

Sora smiled. "Neku! You mean Neku, right?" Sho frowned. "Hold up. How do you know him? You're not from around here. Guess that means you're part of his little posy, then." The dinosaurs snarled, and Sho grinned. "Enough talk. My new pets want to play with you."

Sora turned to Josh. "Don't tell me he's your partner?" Sho froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. Sora turned his attention back to him. "What's so funny?" Sho had to hold his gut and slowly decrease his breathing.

"His...his partner? JOSHUA'S partner?!" Sho wiped tears from his eyes. "Oh, this is too precious." He stood up strait. "He hasn't told you much, has he?" Sora turned to Josh, who was glaring at Sho with a high intensity.

"Sho, I believe you should keep that big mouth of your shut for now." Josh crossed his arms and smiled. "...For your own good, of course." Sho scowled. "So, you want me to keep my yap shut? Fine...I'll let my little friends do the talking!"

He pointed at the dream eaters. "Go on, boys, he's all yours!" They sprang to life, charging at Sora and Joshua. "You want a fight?" Sora drew out his Keyblade, and readied for his fight. "You got a fight, Sho!"

"You think you can win?" Sho laughed out loud. "Do the math! Two against one!" He pointed at Joshua. "You! Stay out of this!" Josh held his hands up in sarcastic defence. "Whatever you say. It is your trash heap."

The two dream eaters turned their attention to Sora. They roared loudly, and Sora was surprised no one was screaming yet. Two giant dinosaurs could be pretty scary if you weren't used to that sort of thing happening all the time.


	4. Ch 4: Reaping old memories

Riku smiled, and looked up. He had finally found Hachiko the dog statue, and, as Mr. H had said, he was standing right under its nose. The view of the city from it was pretty colourful, with people running around doing various errands everywhere. The only problem now was finding Shiki and the others. He wished he had gotten a map from Beat before he had left them to continue his Mark of Mastery exam. It would have come in handy right about now.

"Will I ever find them?" He crossed his arms and closed his eyes to concentrate.

"Let's wait here." He opened his eyes to see a young girl standing beside him. She was wearing a long green jacket over a black shirt, short white skirt and black leggings hidden at the ends by white shoes.

However, what got his attention was what she was holding. In her arms, hugged up against her body, was a black cat stuffy.

"Mr. Mew!" She turned to him, shocked. "How...how do you know his name?!" Riku grinned.

"Long time no see, Shiki!" She stared at him wide eyed. "You...know my name?" He blinked a few times. This was the Shiki he knew, right? What if it was another one?...No, the Shiki he knew had to be the only one with a Mr. Mew.

Besides, just as Eri had said before she left, Shiki had the brown hair and glasses. "Shiki, it's me. Riku." He gestured towards himself. "You know, from traverse town?" She slowly shook her head. "Sorry, never been to Traverse town before. Is it a restaurant, or a clothing store?"

Riku sighed, and slumped his shoulders. "What's going on here?"

"Hey, Shiki!" Riku turned to see three others come up to Shiki and him. They had the same clothes as his old friends, and he could only hope they knew what was going on.

"Beat, Rhyme, and...Neku, right?" All three looked at him funny. "Oh, hey there. You must be Shiki's friend," Beat waved at him. "Sup, yo?" Shiki shook her head. "Um, I don't know him. I thought you guys did."

Rhyme turned to the boy in the purple collared shirt. "Do you know him, Neku?" Neku shook his head, as well. "Sorry, never seem him before." Riku couldn't believe his ears. None of them remembered him! Had their memories disappeared when they returned to their world?

"Beat, it's me! Riku!" Beat shrugged. "Sorry, bro, don't know no one named Riku." He glanced around. "You a spy?" Riku sighed. "You have to know me, Daisukenojo." Beat nearly fell over. "Wah! How'd you know my name, yo?!"

Riku felt like he had just lost some of his best friends. Sure, he hadn't known them for too long, but they were just like him, lost and alone...that is, until he and Sora helped them get back to their partners as part of their Reaper's game.

"Joshua told me." He looked around. "Hey, where is Joshua?" Shiki frowned, and Neku became grim. "You...know Joshua?" Riku nodded. "Well, yeah, he's our friend, remember?" They all glanced at each other with worried expressions.

"Guys? The Reaper's game?" Rhyme looked up at him, suddenly sad. "Were you part of it?" Riku had to face the facts. They didn't remember him. They're memory must have been wiped...but Joshua wasn't wiped away, was he?

"No, I wasn't...what exactly was it about?" Neku sighed. "I'll explain, since I did it three times in a row." He walked over beside Riku. How bad was this game? They didn't seem to like being reminded about it.

"Shibuya is watched over by who they call the "Composer." He decided to test the people of Shibuya, by creating the Reaper's game. So, picking a few reapers from the Underground, where the Reaper's game is played so other civilians aren't hurt, he helps run it."

"Whenever you died, you were taken to the Reaper's game. For one week, you and a partner were to survive the different missions set up by whichever Reaper was in charge for the week. In the end, you would fight the Reaper to gain another chance at life."

Rhyme took it from there. "However, there were some conditions. You had to lose the most precious thing to you. I lost my memories, for example. We were only supposed to be in it for a week...but things got complicated."

Beat shook his fists. "It was so crazy, yo! The Composer, he started to mess with us, and so did them Reapers! Rhyme was turned into a noise, the little creatures that we had to fight, and I even became a Reaper at one point. It was sick, and not the good kind! Shiki was lost, and Neku had to go through it three times before he was free."

Riku crossed his arms again. The game sounded horrible, but it still didn't explain one thing. "So...where does Joshua fit into this?" Shiki hugged Mr. Mew tightly. Did it just frown? "Joshua... he was the Composer, Riku. He was controlling everything that happened."

Riku felt like he had been punched in the gut. Hard. "Jo-Joshua?! He's the Composer?!" His head started to spin. "His knowledge...the wings...being in both worlds...now it makes sense." He still had a hard time believing it.

When he had first met Joshua, he didn't trust him. Something about his presence put him off. However, they became friends at the end. Now he finds ou that Joshua hurt so many people? How on Earth was he going to tell Sora?

"...I don't trust him." Neku looked upwards. "But..in the end, I lost the game for everyone, yet we're all still here." He smiled, if only slightly. "He does trust us. I don't hate him. You shouldn't either, Riku." He looked down.

Riku couldn't help but smile. So, Joshua wasn't evil, he was just...proactive. He didn't know how else to judge them. However, that meant another thing. "You're right, I haven't ever met you guys before." Rhyme looked up at him curiously.

"You haven't?" He shook his head. "No...I met Joshua's dreams."


	5. Ch 5: Ghostly encounter

"This isn't fair!" Sho yelled out in frustration. Sora leaped over another Dream eater, this time it was a tiger, and slashed it down, until is disappeared. He stood up triumphantly. "Game over, Sho minia...minat...Sho!"

Sho glowed a deep red. "Who the factor do you think you are, showing up out of the blue and destroying my fun!?" He growled. Joshua walked over beside Sora, and chuckled. "Well, Sho, looks like it's game over for you."

Sho scowled, and ran off, disappearing behind the trash. Sora breathed in deeply, and exhaled slowly. "Finally! That was tiring!" He grinned at Joshua. "Pretty cool, huh?" Josh smiled at him. "Very cool, Sora."

Sora looked around. "So, just who is Sho?" If he wasn't Josh's partner, who was he? Josh frowned. "He's a Reaper." Sora looked over at him, startled. "Reaper? Weren't those the people who were giving Neku and the others their missions?"

Joshua nodded. "Yes, Sora. They were the ones who ran the missions, changing each week, with different conditions set depending on who was in charge of the players, such as Neku." Sora frowned. "Wow. So, where are they?" Josh shook his head. "We'll have to keep looking. I wouldn't trust Sho by a long shot any day."

Sora nodded, and ran off, Joshua following quickly behind. Soon, the trash vanished behind them, and they reached a large basketball court, though it was abandoned. There were cracks in the pavement, and the nets looked as if they were going to fall at any moment.

"Cool!" Sora walked around. "This place could be hiding ghosts!" Joshua chuckled. "Ghosts, you say! I highly doubt you'll find any ghosts in Shibuya, Sora."

"Oh, but you will find your occasional secret lurking around."

Josh and Sora turned around to see a tall figure in a dark hooded coat. He walked out onto the court. "We meet again, Keyblade wielder of the light." Sora brought out his Keyblade, ready for anything. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

The stranger snickered, and removed his hood, to reveal a tanned complexion with long silver hair. Sora gasped. "Ansem!" Ansem smirked. "Yes, Sora, it is I." He floated an inch above the ground, and crossed his arms.

"What are you doing here?" Sora yelled out at him. If Ansem was here, trouble could only follow. "Relax, Sora," Ansem snapped his fingers, and five large dream eaters appeared, giant dragons with large wings. "You should be used to my "Meddling" by now." He turned to the dream eaters. "Go, and take them down!"

The dragons roared to life, and charged at Sora and Joshua. "Bring it on!" Sora jumped and landed on one of the dragons. It tried to bite at him, turning its head up at him, but he swiped it down, and it disappeared.

"One down, four to go!" Sora raced out at two of them. They lunged from both sides of him, and he rolled out of the way. Banging into each other, he took the chance while they were knocked out, and destroyed them.

Another flew over him, and grabbed his arm. "Hey, let go!" He took his Keyblade in one hand, and swiped at its wings. It screeched, and let him go. He dropped to the ground on his back, and the dragon flew off, defeated.

"Ow..." He stood up, and turned to Joshua. The last dragon was circling around him, waiting for the right moment to strike. Joshua, however, was quite calm. Finally, the dragon grew impatient, and lunged at him.

"Joshua!" Look out!" Sora yelled at him, but stopped. The dragon was halfway through the air when Josh raised his hand in front of it, and it froze. It wriggled around, until it simply fell to the ground, unconscious.

Sora ran over to him. "How did you do that, Joshua?" Josh turned to him and smiled. "Every player has their own powers. They use them to defeat their enemies, whether they be noise, Reapers, or...dream eaters." Sora frowned. "But...don't you need your partner to use them?"

"Joshua does not have a partner, Sora." Ansem hovered over to them, and they turned to face him, both on their guard. He smiled. "Joshua doesn't need a partner, you see. He's special in the game...and out of it."

Sora felt like he was missing something. "What do you mean?" Ansem smirked. "In this world, the Reaper's game is for those who have lost their heart's last beat, and fallen to the Underworld. This world is split into two realities."

"In order to gain their hearts back, they must give up what is most precious to them, fight alongside another, and defeat the Reaper, who gives them missions throughout seven days. If they win, they may get their hearts back."

Sora turned to Joshua, who's face was grim. "Josh, who is your partner? You have one, don't you?" Joshua turned to him. "...Not exactly." Ansem laughed mockingly. "He doesn't have a partner, Sora, because..he created the game."

Sora gasped. "No way! Joshua would never do that!" He looked over at Joshua. "Tell him!" Josh, however, remained silent. Sora relaxed a bit, lowering his Keyblade to his side. "Josh...you didn't, did you?"

Josh looked down. "...The people of Shibuya needed to be tested. I...I had to know if they could be trusted. They were going down a dark road. I didn't know how else to test them, to..talk to them. Neku proved me wrong, and the game ended a while back."

Sora thought for a long moment, then smiled at Joshua. "You can talk to them, you know, Joshua. They're your friends. Neku said so, remember? And so am I, and so is Riku." Ansem chuckled in a deep voice. "It's not that easy, Sora."

Sora turned to him. "What do you mean?" Ansem sighed. "Joshua isn't human, Sora. He isn't like the others. He isn't even a Reaper. He's the Composer, the Guardian of Shibuya. He can't talk to them normally."

Sora smirked. "Oh, yeah? Well, he can still talk to Neku and his friends. I've met them, and they trust Joshua!" Ansem landed down on the ground. "You have, have you? You mean those dream remnants in Traverse town?"

Sora nodded. "That's right!" Ansem glanced at Joshua, who was glaring at him. "Well, I suppose I'll tell you now...those were dream remnants, but not of your so called friends. They were Joshua's dream remnants."

Sora stumbled back. "Wh-what?" Joshua looked away. "That's right, Sora." Ansem came closer to him. "You've never even met this Neku person, or his friends. All your troubles were inside Riku's dreams, inside your dreams,...which were inside Joshua's dreams."


	6. Ch 6: Fifty percent chance of dark rain

Sora's head was starting to hurt. Riku took his mark of Mastery in Sora's dreams of him taking the Mark of Mastery...Inside of Joshua's dreams of him helping his friends? It sounded like some complicated puzzle.

"So, I was in your dreams, Joshua?" He turned to his friend. Josh, however, didn't answer. He was looking at the ground. "Joshua?" Sora could feel his pain. He knew Josh never meant to hurt anyone...right?

"Not for the entire Mark of Mastery, however." Sora spun around to see another figure walk up to them. "Xehanort?! What are you doing here?!" Xehanort smiled at him. "I am here to explain what you seem to barely grasp."

He walked past Joshua, who glared at him with icy eyes. Xehanort stood beside Ansem, who was smiling cruelly. "Only when he needed you did you travel to traverse town. Once you had unlocked that world's Keyhole, you were returned to your own dreams, and left his."

"But enough of that." Xehanort snapped his fingers, and his Keyblade appeared in his hand. "We are not here to simply tell you bedtime stories, Keyblade wielder. We have plans to unravel, and they must be done in short time."

Sora held tightly onto his Keyblade, his hands under his black gloves sweating. "I won't lose to you, Xeha-"

"Sora, stop." he turned to Joshua, who was holding his arm out in front of the Keyblade. "Joshua?"

Josh walked out in front of him. "This is my fault. Even as the Composer, I'm stupid enough to make such simple mistakes." Ansem smirked. "And those mistakes would be?" Josh looked up at him. "...Leaving you ALIVE!"

He began to glow, and Sora had to shield his eyes from the light. "Well, well," Xehanort chuckled. Sora looked up, and gasped. Ansem smiled, and brought out his Keyblade, as well, standing just behind Xehanort.

Joshua was now as tall as Ansem, glowing a pure white. His hair was slightly longer, and he had spiked up shoulder cases and a full out body suit with thin armour. He turned back to Sora. "This is me, Sora. Joshua is my shell."

He sharply turned back to Ansem and Xehanort. "This is the end for you." Holding his hands out in front of him, he dashed at Xehanort. Xehanort gasped, and just managed to block the attack with his Keyblade.

"What?!" He glared at Joshua, who was now holding a large crystal Keyblade, twice his height. He jumped back, and Joshua landed on the ground. Ansem snarled. "A mere fake of the true Keyblade." Josh looked over at him. "Does it matter? It is your downfall."

He slashed at Ansem, who blocked the attack, and swung down on Joshua, who dodged. Sora watched in amazement and horror as they duked it out with one another. Xehanort kept a close eye on both of them, studying their movements.

Finally, Ansem jumped back. "You truly are the Composer of Shibuya." He smirked. "Not that it matters anymore."

Josh snapped at him. "What is that supposed to mean?! Leave my world at once!" Sora stepped back as Josh glowed brightly.

* * *

"This makes no sense, yo!" Beat tried his best to keep up with the others as they followed Riku, who was running through the various alleyways of Shibuya. "You met Josh, and he had dreams of us, and you helped to save them, and he never told you they weren't us?! That's stale, man!"

Riku stopped, and nodded back at them. "I know. I don't know what Joshua was thinking, but I know that I can trust him. He's my friend, and I want to know why he did this. If he's in trouble, it could be bad for this whole world, right?"

Neku nodded, catching his breath. "That's right. Of course, there's the problem that we can't see whatever is going on in the Underground, since they're invisible to us." Riku brought out his Keyblade. "Cool!" Rhyme whistled.

"We can see anything with this." He held it out, and Rhyme touched it. She looked around, and gasped. "Guys, check it out!" They looked at each other, and grabbed the Keyblade.

"No way...Joshua?!" Shiki almost squealed.

Over in an abandoned basketball court, Sora could be seen watching a tall white figure having a staring contest with Ansem and Xehanort, who both had their Keyblades out. The figure was also holding some sort of large sword in his hands.

"Is that Joshua?" Riku thought he was shorter last time they met. "That's him, all right." Neku nodded. "That's his true form – his Composer form." Riku shook his head. "That's really weird...but it doesn't matter right now."

"Let's sneak over and listen in." Shiki began to walk over behind a thick wooden fence near the left basketball net, dragging the others and the Keyblade behind her. Soon, they made their way to the end of it, and silently watched the others carefully.

* * *

"What are you planning?" Sora was becoming impatient with Xehanort. He had something planned, he just wouldn't share it, so it had to be big. Sora wished that Riku was with him. They could defeat anyone together.

Ansem smiled. "Only...this." pointing up, he held his Keyblade tightly, as darkness shot out of it into the sky. Xehanort did the same, and both beams of dark reached the top of the sky. Sora could feel the atmosphere cool.

"Soon, all of Shibuya will be covered in darkness, and every heart here will be lost to Kingdom Hearts!" Xehanort chuckled. "Pleasant dreams, Composer." Sora looked up. As they spoke, a large cloud of darkness began to form.

"NO!" Joshua yelled out. He swung his sword at Xehanort, letting it go so it nearly cut him in half. However, he deflected it quite easily, letting it pierce the ground beside him. "Is something the matter, Composer Kiryu?" Sora walked over beside Joshua. "Stop this, Xehanort!"

He only chuckled louder. "I can't. Only light can." Joshua went silent. "...Look out, Sora." Sora glanced at him, only to be pushed down on his back by a pair of large ethereal wings, as large as Sora himself. "I'll fix this. It's all my fault..."

"Josh, wait!" It was too late, though. Josh spread his wings, and flew off into the sky. Xehanort grinned. "Good, good." He turned back to Sora. "Now, wielder, watch and learn the true power of the Darkness. It may be the last lesson you ever learn."


	7. Ch 7: Fallen Light

Riku watched in awe as Joshua flew up, high into the sky, until he was directly underneath the dark cloud. "What's he going to do?" He turned to Rhyme. She shook her head. "I don't know. We've never seen clouds like these in Shibuya before."

Up in the sky, Joshua spread his wings out, and another pair grew. Beat almost fell over. "Four wings, yo?!" Shiki slapped her hand over his mouth. "SHH! They'll hear us!" Neku didn't take his eyes off of the sky, watching in anticipation. "Josh..."

Rhyme held tightly onto the Keyblade, and Riku panicked for a moment. He wasn't performing some type of Keyblade passage, was he?! He didn't want his friends, even if they didn't remember him, to have to go through what he and Sora go through every day.

He felt a wave of calmness, however, like someone was saying, "Do not worry." He quickly stole a glance at them. They all appeared to be fine. They were watching the skies, obviously worried about their friend. Neku might not admit it, but Riku knew that he and Joshua had a special bond, just like him and Sora.

Joshua began to glow, and suddenly, a bright ring of light burst out from him, spreading across the sky. He held his hands up, and his wings grew even larger. The cloud began to shake, and large beams of white light poured out from them, blasting into the ground, without damage, and breaking the cloud apart.

The beams were huge, and Riku thought for a moment that Joshua was calling down beams from the sun. However, there was something familiar about the light. Could Joshua be calling them down from...no, it couldn't be. Could it?

Riku watched as one nearly hit Sora. "SORA, LOOK OUT!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Sora looked over at him, and just barely managed to be missed by the beam. "Riku!" You're here!" Riku ran out to him, the rest following.

"Riku, you found the others!" Sora hugged Neku. "I'm glad to see you!" Neku pushed him away. "...I can sue you for that, you know." Sora looked highly confused, so Riku quickly explained the situation as Beat ran around yelling "We're gonna die, yo! This ain't cool!"

Sora frowned. "Oh. Well, we'll fix this soon!"

Finally, the beams vanished, and so did the dark cloud. Riku and Sora turned to Xehanort and Ansem, who had been watching the entire time. "You lose, Xehanort." Suddenly, a small ping in the air shot down and hit Neku square in the head.

He fell down on his back. "You okay, Neku?" Riku looked up into the sky. Joshua's hands were held out, and he was forming three other spheres of light. "They're..." They shot down and hit Shiki, Beat and Rhyme, who all fell down unconscious.

"Guys!" Riku bent down beside Shiki, but was stopped by the gleam of two large holes in the air above his and Sora's head. "Riku, look." Sora pointed towards the Keyholes that were opening beside each other.

"Why are there two of them?" Ansem chuckled behind them. "This world is split into two different realities, the Upperground and the Underground. For each, their own Keyhole is kept hidden." Sora grinned.

"Then lets finish this, Riku! Together!" He held up his Keyblade, ready to close the keyhole from the Underground part of Shibuya. Riku smirked, and stood up, holding out his Keyblade at the Upperground keyhole.

"Not so fast, wielders." They both turned to see Ansem and Xehanort holding up their Keyblades, pointed at the Keyholes. "You're going to lock them?" Riku didn't know what to make of it. Why ruin their own plan?

Riku watched as Joshua slowly began to descend down to the ground. He only had one pair of wings now, but was still in his full Composer form. He appeared to be very tired from using up all of that power.

The sky was now clear. Not a cloud in the sky could be seen, only a bright blue. Joshua looked down at him, and gave a weak but reassuring smile. Riku smiled back at them. He only worried about the strange light coming from Xehanort's and Ansem's Keyblades.

Xehanort and Ansem charged up their Keyblades, and shot out dark energy at the Keyholes.

"What?!" Riku gawked as the Keyholes began to shake. Sora turned back to them. "Why did you do that?!" Xehanort smiled.

"Now the keyholes are filled with darkness, and will look for the light to fix them." Riku gasped as the Keyholes shot up into the sky, strait at Joshua. Sora turned around and looked up as the Upperground keyhole hit Joshua in the back at dangerous speeds.

The Underground Keyhole then hit him in the chest. "JOSHUA!" Riku and Sora yelled in unison. Joshua squirmed around in the air, darkness taking over his wings and body, until it took the shape of electricity, and shocked him. "AHHH!" He screamed out in pain, and his eyes closed.

He slowly fell backwards, his Composer form disappearing, replaced by his human form. The wings disintegrated. He began to fall back down head first. "Joshua! Wake up!" Sora cupped his hands around his mouth, but froze when a dark shadow raced under Joshua, and caught him.

"Xemnas!" Riku roared at him. Xemnas turned and floated down, until he was a few meters above the ground, behind Xehanort. Joshua was unconscious in his arms, his body limp. Riku turned to him fully. "Why!?"

Xemnas only smiled even more. "Joshua Kiryu tampered with our plans, and revealed his true power in the process. He is now our weapon...the living keyhole." A large portal appeared behind them, and they disappeared into it. "Until we meet again."

The portal closed. "No! Come back!" Riku ran over to where they had been standing, but it was too late. They were gone, and so was Joshua..and the Keyholes.

"Riku," He turned to Sora, who was looking up at the sky. "Shibuya...what's happening?"

Riku looked up, only to wish he hadn't. The others slowly started to wake up. "Riku?" Shiki finally stood. "What's wrong?" He could only point up. The others followed his gaze, and gasped. "Oh, no..." Rhyme whimpered. "Our home."


	8. Ch 8: A dark situation

The sky was darkening. Not just the clouds, however, but the entire sky. The once light blue was turning into a mouldy greenish brown. Soon, the sun disappeared, leaving total darkness high up into the sky.

Sora and the others stood up. "This can't be happening..." He turned to Riku. "What caused this?" Riku sighed. "Both Keyholes – Joshua – has been infected by darkness. If it isn't fixed soon...Shibuya will be doomed."

"Then fix it." They both turned to Shiki. "Shiki, what did Joshua do to you?" Sora saw only a flash of light hit them all.

"He gave us the memories of meeting you guys in Traverse town, like we were actually there, instead of his dreams."

Rhyme smiled. "Guess we are friends. Thanks." Neku frowned. "Doesn't fix the sky." He looked over at Sora. "Can you help us?" Sora nodded. "Of course, you're our friends! We won't let Shibuya fall, trust us."

Beat clenched his fists together. "I know Josh had his flaws, yo, but," He slammed his one fist into his other palm. "He's our friend! I can see that now. He does trust us. He's one cool dude, so don't let them badies do nothing to him!"

Sora and Riku turned to each other, and nodded. "Don't worry about him." Riku smiled. "We'll save him, and figure this out." Shiki grinned. "I knew you could." Suddenly, Sora panicked. "Wait, without the Keyholes, how to we get out of Shibuya?!"

Riku smacked his forehead. "Knew I forgot something!" Neku groaned. "Hold on, you mean you're stuck here with us?" Riku nodded. "At least until someone notices that we're gone." Sora fell onto his back . "Now what do we do?"

* * *

"How could this happen?!" Lea moaned. "I was only gone for a few hours, and you let this...what exactly am I supposed to call this situation?" he had come back to Ansem's study, only to find a slight problem.

"Please calm yourself, Lea," Even rubbed his temples. "You're complaining more than he is." Even had only recently woken up in his old self, after being destroyed as a nobody by Axel. He simply ignored the fact that Lea was his destroyer, and moved on.

Lea crossed his arms. In front of him, Even was standing beside Ienzo...who wasn't his usual self. Instead, he only reached up to Even's hand in height.

"He's a child, Even. That isn't normal." Ienzo stared at him.

"And will you tell him to stop staring at me? It's freaking me out." Even sighed. "Look, Lea, we have a slightly bigger problem than his freakish staring. Ienzo is one of the smartest members of our group, and yet he won't speak. He never did as a child."

"We need to find a way to fix him, or Xemnas will have our heads. "Lea almost fell over. "Xehanort!?" Even looked at him in the strangest way. "Well, yes. He's still our leader, no matter the problem. However, we need to find a way to return Ienzo to his normal self."

He began to walk away. "Watch over him until I return. And do not leave under any circumstance. I don't know where you keep disappearing off to, but it has to stop, or Xehanort will be most unimpressed with your behaviour."

Even left the room, leaving Lea alone with Ienzo, who was still staring at him. Lea rubbed the back of his head. "Right. I don't think I have to worry about Xehanort hating me...since he already does." Ienzo tilted his head slightly to one side.

"Well, come on, kid," Lea opened a portal behind himself. "Can't let Xehanort use that big brain of yours anymore, especially with you in such a condition." Ienzo stood still for a moment, then silently walked through the portal, taking Lea's hand in his.

"Well, ain't that cute and completely unlike Zexion. Thank goodness for that." He smirked, and followed Ienzo into the portal, closing it behind himself so no one else could follow. He only hoped that Even would take a long time coming back.

* * *

Joshua felt his eyes flutter open. He hurt everywhere, and felt sleep try to pull him back down. He couldn't lay down, however, he had work to do. Using most of his strength, he sat up, and leaned against the wall behind him.

He was sitting in a small cage, made up of what he suspected was darkness. The walls, ceiling and floor's patterns swirled around, a dark purple blending with a pure black. Outside of the cage, the entire room was white.

He closed his eyes and went over what had happened in his head. He had used his powers to clear the sky, but was attacked by two strange beams of light, filled with darkness. He looked down at his arm. He seemed to be just fine, but he sure didn't feel like it.

He breathed in and out, trying to ease the pain. His heart felt like it was imploding. Whatever had hit him, it wasn't done doing its damage. He didn't know where to start, or where he even was. He guessed he wasn't home anymore.

"Well, look who's up." A voice with a slight accent echoed through the room. A tall man in a dark cloak appeared in front of the cage, smiling. He had a long black ponytail with one grey streak, and a patch over his one eye, a scar under it. His ears were pointed, and his visible eye was the strangest colour of yellow, just like...

"Xehanort." The stranger chuckled. "Soon. For now, it's just Xigbar, but Xehanort will soon be its replacement." He smirked. "Aren't you smart. Heard you're also pretty strong. Powerful, even. Of course, you're also too naive."

Joshua tried to stand, but yelped as pain coursed through him. "Don't' try anything, punk." Xigbar snickered. "You're in no condition to...well, to do anything. With all that dark and light energy fighting inside of you, you're your own Keyblade war."

Joshua frowned. "What does that mean?" Xigbar laughed. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough. Just stay put and watch the show. Soon, with you held here long enough, Shibuya will be a thing of the past. So relax, stay a while...like you have any choice."


	9. Ch 9: Chasing dreams

"I'll end you." Joshua glared at Xigbar on the other side of the cage, who simply laughed. "Oh, shut your trap. You can't do anything at this point." He smiled and walked away, closing the room door behind him.

"That went well..." He sighed. How could this have happened? He was just going to get Sora lost, then ditch him. However, those two had to interfere. Guess this is what he deserved, after what he had done to their game...

"_I sense a disturbance." he turned to Mr. H, who merely frowned at him. "Outside of this world? Don't bother with it, then." Joshua pouted. "You'd rather me stay here and whine into your ear?" Mr. H chuckled. _

"_Don't meddle in the other worlds and their affairs. It will only cause trouble." He walked away, but Joshua couldn't stop thinking about it. There was something...wrong. Not just outside of the world, but in it. _

_It had been two weeks since the reaper's game had ended. He was standing above the city on the tallest tower, his composer form invisible to everyone down below. He felt lonely when Mr. H wasn't around, but he couldn't just suddenly show up and make friends. It wasn't allowed._

"_Sorry, Mr. H, but I can't just let this go." He brought out his ethereal wings, and flew off. After a few moments, he landed in an abandoned skate park. "Here, no one should bother me while I'm...working."_

_He began to glow, and brought his wings around him, until they wrapped around his entire body. "Sleeping world, let me rest within." He fell back, and entered sleep, protected by his indestructible wings._

_He opened his eyes again, to see he was standing in a new town. He was in his human form, and was all alone. "What a dull world...I wonder..." He focused his mind on the town, and soon, it began to grow. Eventually, he saw two new paths grow out, both surrounded by colourful streamers and pathways._

"_Now that's better." He smiled. _

"_Wow!" He turned around to see Rhyme skip down one of the paths. "Rhyme?" What was she doing here? Suddenly, he heard another voice. He looked over to see Neku run off._

"_What's going on? I didn't call them here." He stepped towards where Neku had run off to, but felt a sharp pain in his mind. "Wha...ah..." He closed his eyes tightly as the pain increased. "What's happening?"_

_He opened his eyes, and looked up. Shiki, in Eri's body, ran off, and Beat in the opposite direction. However, they were blue, and appeared to be almost holographic. "Huh?" The pain ceased. "Where am I?" This made no sense...did it?_

"_Who are you?" Another voice came from behind him. He turned to see a young man with tanned skin and short silver hair in a black coat standing behind him. He was holding a strange weapon, which looked like a clock on a stick. Scary._

"_My name is Joshua Kiryu." He flipped a piece of his hair back. Why didn't it ever stay in place? Destroying the most powerful enemies in Shibuya? Check. Keeping his hair in order? Impossible, beyond his powers. _

"_What are you doing here?" The young man was studying him, trying to find a weakness. Joshua smirked. "I'm here to find out what I sensed. What's going on?" The boy smiled. "Only the beginning of the end."_

"_You've entered Traverse town, which is two in one. It is quite strange how you can travel through both of them, using that little girl as your portal, without your knowing." He pointed down the path where Rhyme went. Joshua thought he sensed a strange tug from her. _

"_She's my dream portal." He smiled. Well, better than Beat. He'd probably get lost. The young man, however, wasn't smiling. "Leave, you'll only delay my plans." Joshua eyed him. "And those would __be?"_

_The stranger looked away. "I'm going to use the Keyblades. Do not get in my way." Keyblades? Josh hadn't heard of those before. Was that what he was holding? Whatever was going on, he sensed a deep darkness behind it._

"_..Sorry, but no." The young man glared at him. "What?" Joshua smiled. "I don't trust you. So, look out, because your plans have a little knot in them." He walked away as the stranger grumbled, storming off._

"_Now, about Rhyme and the others." He knew what he had to do. With them separated into the two different worlds of Traverse town, he would have to play the reaper's game one more time. However, he couldn't do it alone..._

"_Sora!" Joshua heard someone's voice call out. "Who?" He looked around. "Riku!" Another voice called out from nowhere. He spun around, but there was no one there. "Wait...the two Keyblades?" Of course. They were coming._

_Right into the stranger's trap. He smirked. "Well, can't let that happen." He closed his eyes, and found them, floating around. "Sora, Riku," He murmured. "Welcome...to Traverse town." He split them up, and opened his eyes._

"_Good. Now, using them, I can match my friends together, but I should wake up and tell Mr. H while I'm taking so long." He closed his eyes, and tried to wake up. "Uh, oh..." He tried a again, but it was no use. "Great." He groaned._

"_Of course. I can't escape until the stranger leaves, and the others are together again." He looked up into the starry. Sky. "I sure hope these two Keyblades will be helpful. Perhaps I should meet up with one of them...Riku..." _

_He brought out his wings. "At least I still have these." He would still have to find Rhyme. She was the only way for him to travel from world to world. Her dreams always did seem to be the happiest out of the four._

"_Then, maybe this Riku can help me." He smiled. "Yeah, that'll work." He flew off into the sky, and gazed around. "Wow." He had created not just one whole new part of the town, but two. "hope that strange man in the coat doesn't get lost..." _

_He snickered, and looked up to see two lights crash into the town, though one was a blurry blue colour. "Guess that's them." He flew off in the direction of the white light. "Now, what could possibly go wrong with this? It is just a dream."_


	10. Ch 10: Magic duck

"_Let's say...a friend." He pulled out his wings, and flew off into the sky, leaving Sora and Riku in awe. They had been helpful, after all. He stopped in the air, and looked down to see them disappear into light._

_He had helped them along the way, by introducing Riku to the Dream Eaters, strange creatures that had been roaming around. It had been a bit of a nuisance trying to deal with the hooded one, who had turned Beat against him, but overall, it had worked out just fine._

_It was strange, the dreaming world. And now, there were two of them. He began to wonder...were they really parallel to each other?...Or was there more going on with the young, grey haired youth? What was he planning?_

_He had met both of the wielders, that's all that mattered. They had helped him bring his friends together with their partners, and using Rhyme's dreams, they travelled to their proper worlds. It had worked._

_The big question now was...could he wake up? He closed his eyes, but opened them to see a tunnel open before him, bright and strange. At the other end, he saw what looked like an asteroid of rainbow colour._

"_What's that?" He flew up towards it. However, something else caught his eye. He turned his back to it to see someone in a dark hooded coat standing on a tall building. They were waving at him. "Is that...?" Was it the youth from before?_

_Suddenly, the stranger removed his hood to reveal the boy from he had met. He was smirking, almost sneering at Josh. Josh frowned. "Why are you so happy?" He called out to him. Hadn't his plans failed? _

_Suddenly, a loud 'CAW!" came from behind him. He couldn't turn in time as a large purple staff came over him, pulling him back against something soft. He looked up to a large Dream Eater bird dressed like a wizard looking around._

"_Hey! Ugly!" He struggled against the staff, but the bird had it pinning him against its chest, holding his arms down and his wings bent. He tried kicking, but the bird only squeezed him tighter. "Now I know why that brat was smirking."_

_The bird flew down on his magical broom towards the boy, floating in front of him. _

"_Now will you stop meddling?" He smiled. "I am Xehanort, and you don't want to make me mad." Joshua smiled back. "Oh, but I though it was you who went off to pout."_

_He pushed the staff away, but the bird merely pecked at his head, and held the staff back again. Josh pulled in his wings, since they were of no help in the situation. Why weren't his powers working On the dumb thing? _

"_I see you've noticed that this bird doesn't bend to your will like the others I sent to destroy the wielders." Xehanort pointed to its hat. "This is a special Dream Eater, one not even I can control fully. He's a loose cannon."_

_Joshua frowned. "He's a turkey with a wizard costume, and I'm not going to lose to him." Xehanort looked away, and opened a portal behind him. "It doesn't matter." He walked into it, and disappeared from the town. _

_The bird squawked, and flew off, observing the town. "Um, mister magic duck?" The bird looked down at Joshua. "You don't really need me here, so if you'll just let me go..." This wasn't humiliating. Once he was free, he was going to find Xehanort and kill him._

_The bird seemed to be glaring at him, and flew down towards the ground. Taking him in one wing, it Threw Josh in front of him, where he summoned his wings again. "Thank you, now If we can just-" Suddenly, the bird swung his staff at him, and swatted him down._

_He crashed into a wall painted with spray paint – his little touch – and it fell apart, covering him in bricks of a dark red colour. He brought his wings in. They weren't going to do him any good. Again. The bird laughed at him._

_He pushed away some of the bricks from on top of him. His head hurt, and he felt woozy. What was __going on in this dream? He could only use his mental powers here, and his super strength and Composer form were out of his reach._

_He tried to stand, but his whole body hurt, and the bricks were still weighing him down. The bird flew over, now in front of him, the tip of its staff glowing a bright blue. Quickly, he used his mind to call on the nearest Dream Eater. If he could control them to work for him instead of ignoring him..._

_A loud roar came from the alleyway near him, and a large dinosaur bounded out, charging at the bird. However, the bird pointed its staff at the ground, where two other dinosaurs came out from the ground, and attacked it. They ran off, biting each others tails._

"_That was helpful." He managed to pull himself into a sitting position. Was this what it felt like to be human?...Now he knew Xehanort's game. He was controlling the dreaming world, both of them, disturbing his power's flow._

_The bird readied to shoot him down with his staff. _

"_Not so fast!" A small purple cat sprang out, knocking the bird back. It screeched, then flew off. Josh turned to see Neku run out, the little dream eater cat bouncing around in a circle._

"_Where's Shiki?" Neku sighed. "Lost her again. She should be somewhere around here, though." Josh felt like letting himself die under the bricks. All that work, just to have Shiki get lost again? She really was a bother._

_The bird couldn't be seen anymore. He would have to deal with it later. There was no simple way to catch it...catch it...Oh. That could work. If he had two worlds at his disposal, why not use them to his advantage? _


	11. CH 11: Posture is important

_Neku called his cat back, and is disappeared for the time being. He looked down at Joshua, still covered in bricks. "What happened to you? You look horrible." Josh smirked. It might have been his dream, but it was still a dream fragment of Neku._

"_I had a personal run in with our annoying bird buddy, and he decided to throw me into the wall because we're friends." Neku shrugged. "Makes sense, knowing you." Josh chuckled. "You never change."_

_Neku stood in front of him. "Well, get up and help me find Shiki." Joshua sighed. Honestly, he'd rather just lay under the bricks until Shiki found her way over to them. Knowing her, she'd find her way, even lost._

"_I think I'll leave it to you." He smiled at Neku, who shook his head. "You know this place better than I do." Josh looked around. "...Perhaps, but where's the adventure in that, Neku?" He snickered. Neku really wasn't one for adventures._

_Again, he shook his head. "No way you're chickening out on this." Josh groaned under his breath. "Look, I would love to help you, but I'm stuck under a pile of bricks with graffiti on them, so I'm a bit busy right now."_

_Neku slumped his shoulders. "That's no excuse." Josh cocked his head. "Well, If I can't move, how much help will I be?" Maybe his dream fragments of his friends weren't as smart as the real ones he had worked with._

_Neku bent down. "Get up, lazy." He grabbed his wrist and began pulling on it. "No way are you lying around while Shiki is out there no doubt getting herself into trouble." Why was this Neku so pushy, unlike the other one?_

_Josh sighed, and, using his other hand, pushed himself up. Neku yanked him up, and he dusted himself off. "There, happy?" _

_Neku grinned. "Yeah. Come on." He walked off, leaving Joshua to follow behind him._

_Suddenly, He felt a severe pain in his mind. "Argh..." He grabbed his head with his hands, but the pain continued. Neku stopped and turned back to him. "Joshua? What's wrong?" Joshua shook his head. "It's...nothing...just a...headache."_

_His knees, however, didn't agree, and buckled under him. He fell to the ground, his head pounding, and his ears ringing. "Joshua!" Neku bent down beside him. "Joshua, what's wrong?!" Joshua closed his eyes. "Nothing, Neku! Go AWAY!"_

_Silence fell. Joshua slowly opened his eyes, and looked around. Neku had disappeared. Instead, standing in front of him, was Xehanort, who was smiling at him. "Is something wrong?" Joshua growled as he stood up._

"_You think messing with me is safe?!" He could feel his anger grow. How could this kid think he could mess with him?! "I'm the Composer of Shibuya! You don't think I can simply destroy you with a snap?! Stay out of my way!"_

_Xehanort shrugged. "By all means. I just wanted to know if I could break you. However, the bird is your problem." With that, a large portal appeared behind him, and Joshua was left alone as Xehanort vanished. Joshua felt the pain in his ears again, and he closed his eyes._

"_Joshua!" His eyes tore open. Neku was crouched down beside him. He had entered into a dream in a dream. If that wasn't Xehanort bragging about his power, Joshua didn't know what was. Slowly, he stood up, but wobbled. _

"_Are you okay?" Neku frowned, concern on his face. Josh smiled, and stood up strait. "Of course. Stupid me didn't take my morning pills." _

"_Guys!" From behind a tall wall, Shiki ran out to them, Mr. Mew bouncing around on her chest._

"_There you are," Neku sighed. "Where did you wander off to?" Shiki giggled. "I found the cutest little rainbow fish, and began to follow it before I realized that you had fallen behind." Neku stepped forward."I fell back?" _

_Shiki placed her hands on her hips. _

"_Yes, you! I was just fine until you slowed down!"_

"_This isn't my fault, it's yours!"_

"_You're such a baby!"_

"_What if something had happened to you?"_

"_I'd fend off for myself!"_

"_Hah, there's a laugh!"_

"_I could so!"_

"_What if you had been hurt?"_

"_I'd fight through the pain! Mr. Mew would help me!"_

"_But how could I help you?!"_

"_You wouldn't need to!"_

"_But I want to!"_

"_You want to what? Catch up to me? Be better than me? Spit it out, Neku!"_

"_I want to be able to help you, Shiki!"_

_Shiki froze. "You...you do?" Neku blushed. "Uh, what I mean is...well," He slumped his shoulders again. Joshua laughed. "Posture in front of your girl, Sakuraba." Neku glared at him. "She's not my girl!"_

_Joshua sighed. "Well, now that you two are together, you can finish your next mission." Neku stared down at his hand. "Wow, the clocks have reset!" He clamped his hand shut. "Alright, Shiki, let's go find whatever we have to find!"_

_He ran off. "Now who's left behind?" Shiki huffed. "Wait up, Neku!" She ran off to catch up to him, and Joshua smiled. "Now, once I bring Riku and Sora back, and they help, the partners will return to my mind as the dreams they were, and I can wake up from this nightmare."_

"Gah!" Joshua woke from his flashback to the pain of his arm. He looked down at it, and gasped in horror. It was covered in a black ooze! Quickly, he grabbed at it, but it wouldn't come off. "What?!" He felt something warm and sticky run down his back.

"Eww!" He tried to sit up, but the pain was too much. It felt like he was being crushed to death. "What's happening to me?"

* * *

"So, what happened?" Lea tried to understand Sora and Riku's situation. He had come back to check up on Riku, only to find the most confusing state he'd ever been in. "Guys, explain it from the top? Oh, and, slowly, please?"


	12. CH 12: Not our Luckey day

"It's simple, really," Sora began to, yet again, explain the situation to Lea, from meeting Joshua in Traverse Town during the first Mark of Mastery exam, to Joshua being kidnapped. Lea simply nodded his head, barely paying attention.

"Well, whatever," He yawned. It was becoming a stranger and stranger day. "So, let's go and save your friend, fix Shibuta, and be on our way." Riku rolled his eyes. "It's Shibuya, Lea." Lea waved him off, and turned his attention to the other kids.

"So, what are you guys gonna do until we get back?" Shiki shrugged. "I'm not sure. With the world entering into darkness, what can we do?" Rhyme sighed. "This isn't turning out to be the day I thought it would be."

Lea chuckled. "That makes two of us." Beat paced back and fourth, while Neku watched aimlessly. "I got it, yo!" He clapped his hands together. "I know what we can do!" Rhyme smiled. "That's my brother!"

Sora crossed his arms. "So, Beat? What's your big idea?" Beat smirked. "All we gotta do, now, is to capture a Reaper and make them take us to Joshua!" Neku sighed. "That's just stupid, Beat." Beat glared at him. "Any better ideas, phones?"

"You think we'd ever help YOU?" Lea and the rest turned to face a man standing on top of a magically floating pile of metal, cans and other junk. "BWA?!" Beat nearly fell over. "Sho, since when can you levitate junk like that, yo?!"

"Hold on..." Shiki gasped. "How can we see you?! We're not in the Underground, and we aren't holding any of the Keyblades!" Sho smirked. "Thanks to the darkness taking over, the rules for us Reapers are starting to change, brat."

He then scowled at Beat. "And this isn't junk, you nimrod. Oh, and why should I tell you how I use my powers, anyways?" Riku brought out his Keyblade, as did Sora. "Careful, guys," Sora warned, "He can control dream eaters." Lea smirked, but kept his Keyblade hidden.

Sho stared at him. "What, you not afraid of me?" Lea shook his head. "Nah, I've seen much worse. Try annoying Even until he goes blue." Sho sneered. "You think you can beat me with nothing but your pointy hair?"

Lea pouted. "Hey, now, I work hard to be strong...and keep my hair looking as it is. You want a fight, punk?" Raising his hands in the air, his famous chakrams appeared into his grip. He took his battle stance, and his chakrams were lit aflame. "Well, you got a fight, then."

Sho smiled. "Perfect! I'm gonna factor you up so bad, your friends won't be able to ever put you back together again!" He snapped his fingers, and two large dream eater dragons appeared. They lunged at Lea full throttle.

* * *

"Aww, he's so cute!" Kairi giggled. The three fairies dashed around, cleaning up their room, fixing up the furniture, while Kairi showed Ienzo around, who simply followed in silence, taking everything he saw and heard in.

Lea had recently dropped him off, and because Yen Sid was busy, Kairi had been asked to care for him. Now, as she herself tried to figure out what was where, she guided Ienzo around, showing him the views, books and clothing the fairies had made.

"I bet the fairies would be more than happy to make something for you, Ienzo," Kairi pointed to his lab coat, "Something that's new and fresh." Ienzo took a peek at his coat, then back at Kairi. His mood hadn't changed – bland.

Kairi sighed. _How do you speak to someone who doesn't speak back? _She looked around for something, anything to occupy them until the others returned. Lea hadn't told her where he was going, but apparently Sora and Riku would be there, as well.

"...Hmm...what about...a field trip?" She smiled at Ienzo. "Wanna go visit your castle again?" She winked, and put her finger up to her lips. "It'll be our little secret. Yen Sid and the fairies are too busy, anyways."

Ienzo thought for a moment. Then, he nodded. "Perfect," Kairi brought out her latest weapon – the Keyblade – and spun it around. "Now, how to open a portal. Oh, I just know your other friends miss you!"

After a few moments of wandering around and playing with the Keyblade, Kairi snapped her fingers. "I forgot! You have to open the keyhole to the world outside!" Taking Ienzo's hand, she ran out of the tower, to the end of the small island they were floating on in space.

She held her Keyblade up strait in front of her. "Here goes nothing." She concentrated hard, and soon, the keyhole opened before her. "Yes!" She placed power into her Keyblade, and it shot out like energy into the keyhole.

It opened into a large portal of light. "Let's go, Ienzo! I want to see this so called amazing castle of yours before the others get back and notice we're gone." Holding hands, they walked into it, the portal closing behind them.

* * *

"Gah!" Sho howled as Lea took down yet another four dream eaters. However, his strength was fading, fast. He stumbled, barely able to stand up. "Lea!" Sora ran out to him. "Are you okay?" Riku came up, as well. "Let us help."

Lea stood and dusted himself off. "...Alright, you guys take the dream eaters. I got loud mouth over there." Sora and Riku nodded in agreement, and charged at the creatures. They directed their attacks solely on them as Lea headed in Sho's direction.

"This is so stale, yo," Beat whined to the others. They were at the side, watching in amazement. "We can fight, too, ya know!" Shiki shook her head, Mr. Mew's bobbing up and down. "We don't have powers anymore, remember?"

Beat sulked even more. "Ah, man!"

"...I know what to do." Neku turned to the others. "We need powers, right?" Shiki stared at him, then gasped. "No way! You're not thinking..." She moaned. "You are, aren't you?"

Neku nodded. "It's the only way." Rhyme nodded, as well. "I'd say so. It's time to fight back, and save our home!" Beat laughed. "Alright...uh, guys?" They turned to him, and Neku smirked. "You have no idea what the plan is, do you?"

"Not a clue. Any hints?"


	13. CH 13: Get in the game

Lea clashed with Sho, slashing random pieces of metal away with his chakrams. "Is that all, porcupine boy?" Sho laughed as he threw another piece of garbage in Lea's direction. However, it was no match for his chakrams.

"Lea!" He turned to see Sora and Riku beating down dream eater after dream eater. "This is taking too long, Lea!" Sora yelled out to him. He didn't notice the giant dragon about to crush him.

"Sora, behind you!"

Sora turned just as Riku destroyed the dragon in one swipe. "Don't worry, I got it!" Sora smiled. "Thanks, Riku!" They went back to back, ready to use their magic to take out the leftover dreams eaters.

Lea had to admit, they worked really well together. "Reminds me of you, Roxas." Suddenly, he felt the clang of a large water bottle hit the side of his head. He returned his attention to Sho, who was tossing a pop can up and down in his hand.

"Hey, I'm your enemy, not the stupid beasts!" He bent down, and pulled out a large katana from the pile of garbage he was floating on. "Always wanted to try this." He jumped down, and dashed at Lea, who only had a second to recoil by guarding himself with his chakrams.

He heard the slide of metal as the katana clashed with his weaponry. Sho smirked. "You're good, punk." He took the katana in both of his hands, and swiped at Lea's coat. Lea caught the sword in between his chakrams.

Sho tried to pull it out, but Lea already began to melt the metal with his fire. "That hot enough for you, Sho?" He took the chakrams, and whammed them against Sho's chin. He staggered back, temporarily dazed.

"You won't be moving for a while, so," Using his chakrams, he merged them together, until his own Keyblade appeared. "I win." He swung down at Sho, knocking him out into his own pile of trash, where he laid unconscious.

He looked over to see the dream eaters disappear. Without Sho controlling them, they had no reason to be there anymore. Sora, Riku and the others walked over to him, smiling. "Great work, Lea!" Sora gave him the thumbs up.

"Thanks, but," Lea held his Keyblade up in the air, "That doesn't solve the problem. We still need to save your friend, and Shibuya is falling apart." Neku smiled. "We'll take care of Shibuya, guys. Trust us, we have a plan."

Riku turned to him. "What kind of plan?" Shiki sighed. "The plan that involves us entering the Underground again, so we'll have the power to fight the darkness until Joshua returns." Sora gulped. "Um, doesn't that mean that you guys have to...you know..."

"Not exactly." They all turned to see a tall man walk up to them, and Riku smiled. "Mr. H, you're here!" Mr. H smirked. "Of course. I told Joshua not to mess with other people's affairs, but did he listen? No, so now I'm here to help clean up what he started."

Riku thought for a moment. "Wait a...you know Joshua?" Neku frowned. "Know him? Mr. H works with Joshua. He helped with the last Reaper's game." Mr. H snickered. "That's right, and now, I'm helping you guys."

Beat crossed his arms. "How you gonna help, yo? We ain't part of the game no more, but we need 'dem powers to fight the baddies." Mr. H snapped his fingers ,and smiled. "There. You're all officially in the Underground, powers restored. Of course, you all need your partners to fight, but that should be just fine for you guys."

Rhyme nodded. "Thank you." She turned back to Sora. "Please, help Joshua. He's a good guy, he just doesn't know how to make friends." Riku nodded. "We will, don't worry. Lea?" Lea put his Keyblade away, and held his hand out.

The dark portal appeared before them. "We'll be back, you guys!" Sora ran through, followed by Riku. Lea began to walk in, but stopped. "...You know, I think Joshua did just fine finding friends like you guys."

He entered, and the portal closed behind him. Shiki hugged Mr. Mew. "Well, you guys ready to fight again?" Beat pounded his fists together. "Ready for anything!...Wait a minute!...Ah, man! I forgot my skateboard at home, yo!"

* * *

"What a mess." Kairi kicked away a few scrap pieces of paper lying around on the floor, and took it all in. She had successfully transported her and Ienzo to Ansem's castle, but the place was both abandoned, and messy.

There were papers lying everywhere, books opened, dust covering everything, and a few rotten apple cores. Random scribblings were all over the walls, and you could hear an open window somewhere, creaking quietly.

"Well, Ienzo, now what?" She kept hold of Ienzo's hand, afraid of losing him in the mess. He glanced around, and dragged Kairi out of the room, down the velvet hall, until they reached what appeared to be the door to a laboratory.

"Is this your lab, Ienzo?" He nodded, and opened the door. It made a very loud creaking noise, and a long path of stairs spiralled downwards. "Gee, nice place to raise a child, Ansem." Kairi stepped down first, leading Ienzo through the darkness, until they entered a larger room.

Finding the nearest light-switch, the room lit up, but it was practically empty, with only a few tables covered in beakers and papers cluttered around. A single bulb at the top of the ceiling lit everything. Kairi coughed at the amount of dust everywhere.

"What did you do here, Ienzo?" Ienzo pulled her over to the closest table, the papers reading off complex calculus and chemistry equations. "You did THIS?" Ienzo, however, pushed the papers aside, revealing a few colourful drawings of different people and animals.

"Oh." Kairi picked up the closest one. "I get it, you drew these while the others worked, huh?" The picture showed a little Ienzo, being saved from what looked like little blue beasts, by a young man. "Hold on...is that...Roxas?!"

Kairi looked down at Ienzo, who was staring at the table and its content. _That can't be right, _Kairi thought, _Roxas isn't from over ten years ago! How, then, was Ienzo saved by him?!_


	14. CH 14: Shoujax

"Ienzo, who is this?" Kairi put the picture of him and Roxas in front of his face. He looked it over, and shrugged. Kairi sighed. "Well, that won't help." Ienzo turned back to the papers, and picked up one with strange drawings and calculations all over it.

"...Door to Darkness..."

Kairi gawked. Ienzo had actually said something! Suddenly, he turned and raced out of the lab, up the stairs. "Wait, Ienzo!" Kairi ran after him, not wanting to get lost. "Wait for me!"

Ienzo ran through the halls, twisting and turning, until he reached a large office. Kairi walked in, breathing heavily. "Wow, Ienzo, you can sure run...oh." She looked around. The office was a mess, and behind a large chair near the lone desk, a large portrait of a young man was ripped.

"That looks like...Xemnas." She spotted Ienzo over in the corner, comparing his piece of paper to writing on the wall. At the top, the letters "DTD" were outlined, with smudged writing in between them.

"Ienzo..." She walked over behind him. "Does this mean that you want to open a door to darkness? Where would it lead you?" Ienzo turned to her, and she saw a deep sadness in his eyes, like he had just lost something important.

"...Ansem..." Ienzo sighed quietly, and Kairi pet his head. "I see. You want to see Ansem again, because he was thrown into the World of Darkness by...well, um, you guys, when you were about to become nobodies." He looked up at her sadly. "...I want Ansem."

Kairi smiled. "We'll find him, don't worry. It can't be to hard to reach the World of Darkness, right?" She frowned. _I thought Ansem was destroyed. Could he have simply been taken back to the World of Darkness?...Will he remember anything?_

* * *

"This place hasn't changed a bit." Lea looked around at the castle, everything in a pure white colour. It was where Organization 13 was, in the World that Never Was. If Joshua wasn't here, then they would never find him.

"You guys ready?" He turned to Sora and Riku, who were admiring the view from a large window, overlooking the city. Sora spun and faced him, smiling. "You bet we are!" Riku smirked. "Ready as always, Sora."

"Well, then," Lea brought out his Keyblade, "let's start looking." He led them through some of the smaller hallways, until they reached a big door, with the words "HOLDING FACILITY" printed on the front.

"Want to take a peek?" He pushed the door open, and inside was the largest room he'd ever seen, filled with cages made of darkness. "He should be in here." Sora rushed ahead, and looked into the first cage on their right.

"I sure hope this isn't him." Riku and Lea walked over and peered in. Inside was a giant, black dog, covered in green polka dots. "What kind of heartless is THAT?" Lea shook his head. "I'm betting Even had something to do with this.

Riku walked over to the next one. "Um." They followed him, and checked inside the cage. "Weird." It was another heartless, but this time, it was a tiny blob of purple...something.

"...Wanna name it?" Sora smiled.

Lea rolled his eyes. "Sure, let's call it...BLOB."

"Guys, come see this!" Riku called out to them. He was a few cages down, at one that had twice as many bars on the front as the rest of them. They skidded over and looked inside.

Inside the cage wasn't heartless, but a young boy. He had short black hair, and was wearing...a black organization 13 cloak. "No way," Sora gasped, "is he a nobody?!" The boy's eyes darted open, revealing a light purple colour.

He sat up in the cage, and yawned, stretching. "Whoever he is," Lea chuckled, "he doesn't seem to worried about being locked up in a cage." The boy stood up, and walked over, now facing them. "...Who are you people?"

Sora smiled. "I'm Sora, and this is Riku and Lea." He spun his Keyblade around at his side. "What's your name?" The boy shrugged. "Beats me." Riku slumped his shoulders. "So you have no idea who you are, where you are, or why you're here?"

He frowned. "Pretty much."

"Well, then, stand back!" Lea and Riku backed away as Sora held up his Keyblade to the bars. "I'll break you out!" The boy jumped back as light energy formed at the tip of the Keyblade.

It shot out, penetrating the bars, until they exploded in a loud symphony of shattering. Lea sighed. "Well, at least everyone knows we're here, now." The boy jumped out, and Riku shook his hand. "So, what do you want to be called?"

The boy thought for a moment. "...Shoujax." Lea snickered. "Shoujax? What kind of name is-" "Joshua."

He turned to Riku. "What?" Riku stared up at him. "Shoujax. J, o, s, h, u, a, and an X for organization 13. He's Joshua's nobody."

Shoujax cocked an eyebrow. "Who's Joshua? And why am I suddenly a nobody?" Sora patted him on the back. "It's a title for someone who doesn't have a full heart." Shoujax stared at him. "You're just like the guys who locked me up."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I woke up a few hours ago in some strange room, and two guys in cloaks gave me one to wear. Then, they murmured something about "Shoujax", and locked me away in the cage."

Sora pumped his fists in the air. "That settles it! You are Joshua's nobody!" Shoujax flicked him upside the head. "Who is Joshua?" Lea crossed his arms. "Someone who doesn't look anything like you. How come he doesn't look like Joshua, then?"

"Easy." Riku closed his eyes in concentration. "...Shoujax took the form of someone very close to Joshua, quite possibly before he was the Composer, if he was anyone before taking the title." Shoujax's eyes widened.

"You mean...I had a life?" Riku shook his head. "Not exactly. You're part of Joshua, and you must look like someone who was very close to him...trapped in his heart."


	15. CH 15: Blooming secrets

"Think, Kairi, think," Kairi paced back and fourth within the small space available in the office, while Ienzo continued to translate the writing on the wall, all about the Door to Darkness. "How can we get to the World of Darkness?"

Then, it hit her. Literally. Walking near a pile of book twice as high as her, the top booklet fell off, and smacked her on the top of the head. "Ouch." She grabbed the booklet, and read the title. "Hm..."World that Never was"...oh!"

She smiled. "I know where we could find more information, Ienzo!" She walked over to him and flipped open the book. "Do you remember this castle?" Ienzo nodded, and Kairi grinned. "Well, then, I have our next destination!"

Closing the book, she took Ienzo's hand, and together, they walked outside the office, and down the hall. "Once we get to the castle," Kairi smirked, "I'll show those boys that I'm more than capable of helping out!"

They reached a small, purple door, with a tiny window in the middle of it. "Where does this lead, Ienzo? Outside?" Ienzo pushed on the door. "...Indoor garden...it's Braig's." They walked in, and Kairi gasped.

It was a beautiful garden. Flowers of every colour, all organized into the shape of a crown in the middle of the light room. Pink tiles surrounded the flowers, and along the bottom of the wall, little flower decorations were painted on.

"This belongs to Braig?" Kairi shuddered. From what she was told by Yen Side, Riku and Lea, Braig was the somebody of Xigbar, and was a traitor from the very beginning. To see that he had a flower garden? She didn't know whether to go "Aww" or "Eww".

"...It was for Lucy." Kairi looked down at Ienzo. "Who's Lucy?" Ienzo brushed some of his hair out of his face. "Pretty woman...Braig...I think he liked her." He looked up at her. "...She looked like you, Kairi."

Kairi smiled. "Well, then, I guess even Braig had a soft spot."

"_Kairi...my little girl...I love you...you are loved...my little princess..."_

* * *

Sora, Riku, Lea and Shoujax walked down the halls, looking for Joshua while trying not to get caught. "Isn't it a bit weird that we've seen no one around yet?" Sora sighed. If there was no one in the castle, looking for Joshua would be a lot harder than anticipated.

Near the end of the hall, two large white doors could be seen. "What's behind those doors, Lea?" Riku pointed at them. Lea, however, appeared just as lost. "Those...they weren't here when I was part of the Organization."

Sora frowned. "So, it's an entirely new room? Do they have time to renovate?" Shoujax chuckled. "Maybe this Xehanort guy is trying for a new hobby in interior design." Lea laughed. "Yes, because Xehanort strikes me as the decorator type."

They reached the doors, and Riku touched the handles. The door began to glow, and strange etchings appeared all along the door. A loud clicking sound escaped through the crack, and the door opened very slowly.

"...They're waiting for us." Shoujax stepped forward. "They set this whole thing up, didn't they?" Sora began to walk into the room. "Doesn't matter. They still have Joshua, the only person who can fix Shibuya. He's our friend, and we can't let them hurt him."

Riku agreed. "Come on, let's walk strait into their trap."

The door led outside. It was a giant platform growing out of the side of the castle, with four large pillars, one at each corner. In the very centre, a large cage of darkness hid something inside of its shadows.

"That has to be Joshua!" Sora ran towards it, but was stopped by the sudden appearance in front of him. Riku gasped. "Repliku!" Sora stepped back as Repliku smiled. "Well, well, well, so you finally arrived. Your little friend was waiting for you."

Soon, standing on each side of the cage, Xemnas and Ansem stood, stone cold faces and icy eyes. Riku and Lea raised their Keyblades, while Sora held his in both hands. Shoujax pulled out an orange cellphone from his pocket, and flipped it open.

"Shoujax," Xemnas smiled, "You finally show your power. I suppose you know what you are?" Shoujax gripped the phone tightly. "Yes...a broken puppet, I'm afraid." Ansem laughed. "You are correct."

"Where is Joshua?" Riku called them out. "Tell us!" "Now, wielder of darkness," Riku blinked, and before the cage, Xehanort stood. "Is that the proper tone to take?" Repliku turned and stood beside him, his Keyblade ready for battle.

Xehanort coughed, clearing his throat. "At the beginning, when the X-blade was broken into twenty pieces, thirteen of dark and seven of light, the keyholes were chosen to their worlds. They were drawn to the centre, the one piece of the world that connected that world to the kingdom Hearts."

"While most of the worlds kept their keyholes secret, one world had no centre – Shibuya. However, the keyhole found that, split in two, the closest to a centre was the one thing that kept both worlds apart, yet together – the Composer, ruler of the world."

"Splitting its power in two, it joined with the Composer, giving them amazing power, all through the Kingdom hearts, under a different name, in order to hide it from the darkness. It worked – until the Composer chose a replacement."

"The Kingdom energy was disrupted, long enough for the darkness to enter it. That world then became part of the Kingdom Hearts collection again, no longer hidden. Naive and foolish, this new Composer chose to impose on our plan – and payed dearly for it."

Xehanort walked over beside Ansem, Repliku beside Xemnas. "Now, Keyblade wielders, rest your eyes on the Composer, the living keyhole of Kingdom Hearts." Snapping his fingers, the door to the cage fell to the ground, the bars breaking apart.

Shoujax stood completely still as the shadows hiding Joshua's presence swirled and moaned. Sora slightly lowered his Keyblade. "...Joshua?" The shadows twisted and turned, and from them, Sora watched in horror as someone walked out.

"...Joshua...no..."


	16. CH 16: Anti-good

"Oh, no..." Sora stepped back, almost walking right into Shoujax. From out of the dark cage, Joshua stepped forward into the light. However, he was different. Xehanort smiled. "Aren't you happy to see your beloved friend again?"

Joshua was in his composer form...only now, it was pure black. His iris' were a red colour, and he was frowning. Repliku snorted. "Oh, by the way, we thought we'd give him a little makeover." Shoujax moaned. "Please stick to one hobby, okay?"

Riku lowered his Keyblade. "Joshua...what happened to him?!" Ansem laughed. "In order to fully control the living keyhole, we removed part of his heart, creating Shoujax. We then proceeded to fill his heart with darkness, creating...the anti-composer."

Xemnas flicked his wrist, and a large black portal appeared behind him. Repliku sneered, and walked into it, followed by Ansem and Xemnas.

"Wait!" Lea ran at them, but was blocked by Xehanort.

"We will take our leave now. Whether you win or lose against Joshua doesn't matter. We've made our mark, and we now control him. Shibuya...it will soon be history."

He dashed back, and entered the portal. It closed behind him.

Joshua swayed back and fourth, like he was still half asleep. Lea cautiously walked over in front of him. "Uh, Joshua?" Joshua didn't answer him. Lea carefully poked him on the arm. "Hello? You still in there, Joshua?"

Joshua raised his head slightly, and, taking his hand, placed it on Lea's head. Lea sighed. "Well, at least he's still-"

A loud blast sound burst out, and Lea felt himself slam into the castle's wall, right beside the now closed doors. He fell to the ground, pain cutting into his vision. He tried to stand, but couldn't find the strength to move.

"LEA!" Sora turned to Joshua. "Joshua, stop this! Now!" Joshua looked over at him, and his eyes shone with a bright red. Riku stepped over beside Sora. "Joshua! Can you hear us?" Shoujax took the chance to run back and check on Lea.

"Lea," He whispered, "you okay?" Lea got on his hand sand knees, wobbling. "Ye-yeah, tot-totally...fine." Shoujax stared back at Joshua. "That's who I'm part of?...Why does he seem so familiar to me?"

"...Everything..."

Riku's eyes widened. "Joshua? What did you say?" Joshua's eyes blared with red light.

"...Everything...I always ruin EVERYTHING!" He screeched, the sound of grinding metal and breaking glass erupting into the air. From his back, three pairs of black wings emerged, all rustling from the noise.

Sora and Riku covered their ears. Sora felt his teeth shake from the vibrations of the ground. "Joshua," He tried to speak over the noise, "Stop! STOP!" Joshua stopped his screeching, as if on cue. He glanced around, almost like he was lost.

Riku uncovered his ears, and stepped forward. "Joshua! Your doubt in yourself is causing you to become your anti-form! You need to stop mistrusting yourself! You don't ruin everything! Everyone makes mistakes!"

Joshua growled, and Riku saw fangs between his teeth. "No way."

Joshua snapped his fingers, and beside him, trapped in two dark cages, were two small dream eaters. Sora gasped. "My dream eaters! Joshua, you had them the whole time I was in Shibuya?!" The dream eaters cried out in fear.

Joshua snapped his fingers again, and the cages shrunk, crushing the dream eaters out of existence. "NO!" Sora held his hand up, but felt a sudden jolt of energy flow through him. He fell to his knees, and Riku crouched down beside him.

"Sora, you okay?!" Sora shook his head. "Riku...I've been removed...from the Dream world!" They stood up, and Riku felt his hands sweating on the Keyblade. "What do you mean, removed?"

Sora looked down at his Keyblade. "I felt it, just now. When Joshua crushed the dream eaters, he simply returned them to the Traverse town in the dreaming world. Using that much force, he pushed me back into the waking world, with you guys...out of the Mark of Mastery again."

Lea and Shoujax came up behind them. Shoujax tossed his phone around. "Now what? What can I do?" Riku faced him blankly. "...You'll need to return to his heart. You won't disappear, but you'll be trapped there."

He then turned back to Joshua, who was waiting for their next move. "There's darkness in there, taking over. You'll need to fight it and take back control while me, Sora and Lea fight him from the outside as best we can."

Sora moaned. "There's another problem." Shoujax stared at him. "Now what?"

"I was once a heartless, too. The only way I came back was when Kairi, a Princess of Heart, brought me into the light." Lea whisked one of his chakrams around. "And where exactly do you expect us to find a Princess of Heart around here?"

"Guys!"

They all turned to see none other than Kairi standing in front of the closed doors, little Ienzo beside her. She smiled and waved, but froze when she looked beyond them to see Joshua. "Hey, who's that?" Ienzo slid behind her, his eyes glued to Joshua. "...Bad man..."

"KAIRI?!" Lea, Riku and Sora yelled in unison. Shoujax stared at her. "...Please tell me she's a Princess of Heart. She's pretty enough to be."

Kairi ran over to them, Ienzo following. "Uh, Kairi," Lea pointed down at Ienzo, "What are you two doing here?!" Kairi frowned. "I was going to help Ienzo see Ansem the Wise in the World of Darkness, so I came here for information."

She pointed at Joshua. "Is he your friend from Traverse Town?" Ienzo moved over and clung to Lea's coat. "...Scary..."

Riku nodded. "He's become an anti-him. Kairi, we need your help."

Sora smirked. "You helped me to the light when I was lost in darkness. I think you can do the same for Joshua, as well." Shoujax clicked his phone off. "Guys, um, I'll need a guide in there. Where can I go? What do I do?"

Sora smiled. "Don't worry. I'll give you some of my heart to help guide you." Shoujax cocked his head. "How will that help?"

"I'll let Roxas explain that once you're both inside."


	17. CH 17: Nobody field trip

"So, I've got to go INSIDE of him?" Kairi felt like she had just walked out of the oven and into the fire. Whoever Joshua was, he was scary. He stood still, glaring at them, his wings swaying around like they were alive.

"You'll be fine," Riku assured her with a warm smile, but it didn't help. Telling her that she was going to enter into pure darkness to look for any shred of tiny hope? If Riku ever asked her out on a date, he'd better have a pick up line that didn't give her the heebie-jeebies.

"...Alright." She sighed. Shoujax walked up next to her. "Hey, you're not the only one who's going on an adventure in there." He was right. At least she wouldn't be alone. Sora pointed to his chest. "Don't worry, Roxas will help you, I'm sure of it."

Kairi smiled. "Right. Roxas, Shoujax...and Namine!" She turned to Lea, who was trying to loosen Ienzo's grip on his coat. "What about Axel?" Lea returned her gaze. "...I guess he could help out." Ienzo stared at all of them. "...Get it memorized."

"Got it." Sora glanced at Riku. "But...that'll leave you alone out here, Riku. Can you...?" Riku smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Ienzo will help, right?" He crouched down in front of him.

"All I need you to do is move the bodies away, so they don't get hurt, okay?" Ienzo looked from one face to the next. "...Okay."

"Good." Kairi stepped out in front of them, and pointed her conjured Keyblade at Joshua, who seemed to ignore her presence. Sora, Shoujax and Lea stood on both sides of her.

"Um, what do I do?" Shoujax took out his phone, and pointed it at Joshua, where a long, glowing green line pointed right at his heart. "Oh."

He smirked, and gave the thumbs up. "Let's do this." Kairi pointed her Keyblade ahead, and Joshua scowled. "Leave me ALONE!" He bared his fangs. "Now," Riku called at them, "Go!" At his voice, Kairi's mind went blank.

* * *

"..."

"Kairi?"

"..."

"Oh man, she's dead!"

"She's not dead, Axel!"

"Are you sure?"

"Guys, stop it."

"Who are you guys?"

"I'm Namine, and this is Axel and Roxas."

"Oh, hi."

"Kairi, wake up."

"I'm telling you, she's gone Snow White on us."

"That's not funny, Axel."

"Kairi, please wake up before Namine starts beating on Axel."

Kairi felt her eyes flutter open. She sat up and looked around. Namine was crouched beside her, while Roxas and Axel were standing beside Shoujax. Everyone except for her and Namine were wearing the Nobody coats.

Namine was wearing a white, sleeveless white dress down to her knees, and had white sandals on. Kairi stood up and Namine straightened out. "Are you alright, Kairi?" She smiled, and Kairi felt better. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She took in everything around them. They were in complete darkness, no light anywhere. "So this is what's happened to Joshua's heart..." Roxas shivered. "It's terrible." Shoujax frowned. "So this is the power of darkness."

Namine nodded. "We need to find some light in Joshua's heart, and use it to bring him back into the light." She glanced at Kairi. "That's where you'll come in. You'll need to unlock his heart, and enter it on your own."

It scared her to think about going into someone's heart alone that she didn't know, but she agreed. In order to save Joshua, she would have to go beyond her fears. "I'll do it." Namine smiled. "I knew you would."

Axel patted Roxas' head. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He walked off in a random direction, leaving the rest of them to follow. Kairi didn't let her Keyblade go. It gave her comfort as they walked further into the darkness.

After a while, Roxas sighed. "Axel, do you have any idea where we're even going?" Axel stopped and turned to him. "I had to have an idea where to go?" Roxas moaned. "We're lost. I knew it."

"Need some help?"

Everyone turned, and Roxas gasped, his face filled with shock and relief. Kairi looked closely at the stranger. They looked familiar...scary familiar...

* * *

Riku watched carefully as he and Ienzo propped his friend's bodies against the castle's outside wall, except for Shoujax, who had completely disappeared into Joshua's heart. Joshua didn't take his eyes off of them, but he didn't move, either.

After a few minutes of silence, he lowered his wings slightly. "Where did they go?" Riku stood and walked over, until he was only a mew meters away from Joshua. "They're going to save you, Joshua, and I'm going to help." He could feel Ienzo staring at him from behind. "Stay there, Ienzo. You'll be safe."

Joshua tilted his head. "Save...me?" He shook his head, and Riku could see the pain on his face. "You're not evil, Joshua. Trust me, I've been into the darkness. My friends helped me see the light, and that's what we're going to do for you!"

Joshua glared at him, and Riku could have sworn the red in his eyes became deeper. Not a good sign. "No...," Joshua clenched his fists, "I'm not worth it. I'm NEVER WORTH IT!" His voice escalated, and his wings rose up. He flew high into the air.

Riku conjured his Keyblade out, and readied for a fight. He had to distract Joshua until the others were ready. Until then, it was an all out war against one of the most powerful beings in the Universe...no biggie.

"Leave, Keyblade wielder," Joshua yelled down to him from far above, "Soon, Xehanort will be my name, and Joshua will no longer be around to bother anyone again!" Riku stared at him with intensity. "I'm not leaving you, or my friends!"

Joshua dove at him, and he rolled out of the way as Josh tried to claw him. He landed on the ground quietly, and Riku jumped back up. "Josh, can you hear me at all?" Joshua turned to him, and Riku felt his heart nearly implode.

Joshua's eyes weren't red anymore.

They were yellow.


	18. CH 18: A heartful journey

"Xion."

Roxas stared in awe. Xion's hair was the same, a dark black colour that hugged her face, but what she was wearing was different. She was now wearing a white shirt over a black one, purple shorts under a purple skirt with a blue belt, and white slip on shoes with purple caps. She also had a black choker around her neck, a yellow wristband, a purple arm band on her left arm, and a pair of bracelets on her right arm.

"No way," Roxas heard Kairi gasp, "those are MY clothes!" Xion smiled. "Thank you for letting me borrow them for a while." Roxas walked up to her. "Xion, you're...you're alive!" She sighed. "Only because Sora let me out without knowing. I'm here to help you guys."

Axel snickered. "Looks like the trio is back together." Shoujax cocked an eyebrow. "You guys know each other?" Xion nodded. "I'm Xion. I'm made up of some of Sora's memories, and reside within him."

Namine brushed back some of her hair. "You did the right thing, Xion." Xion chuckled. "I know." Kairi looked Xion over. She looked just like her from when she was younger. Was that because she was made up of memories?

"Come on, then," Kairi pointed forwards...or where she thought was forwards, at least, "Let's go. We still have a mission to finish." Xion took Roxas' hand, and walked behind them, Axel at the back of the group.

"Oh, I get it, I'm at the back because I can't lead us though endless darkness like the rest of you, right?"

"Gah!" Riku fell onto his back. Shakily standing up with his Keyblade as support, he looked up to see Joshua smirk, his black wings shimmering. "Have you had enough yet, wielder of darkness?" Riku glared at him.

"No." He arose, and took his battle stance. "I'm not letting Xehanort win!" Joshua laughed. "Give up, Riku. There is no winning this battle. I am the Composer, and with my power, there's no way you can win!"

Riku charged at him, and jumped up. He took his Keyblade, and tried to jab one of his wings. Joshua saw him coming, though, and grabbed him by the neck. "Please, you can't even get close enough to touch me, let alone hurt me."

Riku kicked at him, but Joshua simply held him farther away. "I should end this right here, right now." Riku gasped for air. "But you...won't." Joshua frowned. "Who says?" Riku managed to smile. "Joshua is still in there, Xehanort. He won't let you hurt me."

Joshua glared at him, his stare icy, unfriendly. "I control this body now, not him. I've finally beaten the Composer." Riku couldn't stop smiling. "So you admit that he's still in there." Joshua's eyes widened, if only for a second, and his grip on Riku's neck tightened.

"Perhaps he's still alive, but he's trapped forever in the darkness. Not like you can do anything," he smirked, "you can't even keep your eyes on a tiny child for two minutes." Riku felt Joshua drop him to the ground. Did he say child...?!

"Ienzo?!" Riku bolted upright as Joshua dashed over behind the boy, who looked up into his eyes. "Riku..." Joshua grabbed him, and lifted him up by the back of his jacket. "You can't even protect one measly boy."

He walked over to the edge of the platform, and held Ienzo over it. "Stop!" Riku tried to run over to them, but felt his knees buckle under him. "What? My strength..." He felt pain reach all throughout his legs.

"Pitiful." Joshua let a grin slide onto his face. "All of that fighting too much for you to handle? You should have never challenged me, Riku." Ienzo's small eyes widened. "...I don't want to fall." Joshua laughed. "Too late."

Silence hung in the air. Riku waited for Joshua to drop Ienzo, to hear his tiny scream as he fell, until he entered complete, inescapable darkness.

One minute.

One more minute.

"What?" Joshua shook Ienzo, but didn't let him go. "What is this?" Taking his free hand, he tried to pry his fingers around the jacket loose, but couldn't. "What's happening?"

"Let's hope that worked!" Axel smiled. He had just taken out a few dozen heartless that were roaming around. Kairi stood behind him, finished with eliminating a few more. "I'm sure it did wonders." Axel smirked.

"Guys!" They turned to see Xion waving them to come over with the rest. "I've found it! The doorway to Joshua's heart!" Roxas nodded. "We have to hurry!" They ran over to join the others, and nodded. "Right, then," Kairi held her Keyblade up, "let's do this!"

The doorway to the heart was stranger than others. The keyhole was twice as big. "I can't do this on my own," Kairi frowned, "I need more power." Namine touched her Keyblade, and pushed it down. "This isn't your part, Kairi."

Kairi felt like she was missing out on something. "If it isn't my job...who's is it?"

"Ours."

She turned to see Xion, Roxas and Axel standing side by side, their Keyblades out and ready, pointing at the keyhole. "Once we open it," Xion smiled, "you, Namine and Shoujax need to enter Joshua's heart, while we face the darkness out here."

Shoujax frowned. "What kind of darkness?" Axel grinned. "Only some super evil, super bad, and super powerful creature power. Nothing much." Holding their Keyblades high, the three closed their eyes as light began to form at the Keyblade's ends.

The lights blended together, and shot out into the keyhole, which opened up into a large, white portal. From it, a giant cloud of darkness floated over them. "Now, Kairi," Axel pointed to the portal, "go!" Shoujax nodded, and ran in.

"But, will you guys," Kairi took time to stare at the cloud above them, "will I see you guys after?" Their solemn faces didn't reassure her too much. "Hey, don't worry, princess," Axel gave her a thumbs up, "we'll be fine. Our friends can't wake up without us, anyways."

Smiling, she took Namine's hand, and together, they ran in after Shoujax.


	19. CH 19: Sleep tight, win the fight

"Where are we?"

Shoujax glanced around. They appeared to have entered into a large city instead of the middle of a heart. Buildings surrounded them on the long sidewalk of a crowded road. Cars were lined up behind each other, and lights were blinking like something had set them all off at once.

Kairi and Namine walked up behind him. "Shoujax," Namine spoke quietly, barely audible over the loud sounds of the city, "does any of this look familiar to you?" Shoujax took everything in. The buildings, cars, people...

"...Slightly." He shook his head. "Something here...something happened here...but what?" Kairi smiled. "Let's take a look around, then." They strode through bustling crowds. "Weird," She thought out loud, "why is everyone here? Something had to have happen to draw so much attention."

Shoujax tried to see through the people. Some were talking on their phones, others screaming, some crying...everyone was sad. "Huh?" Shoujax felt a weird tug at the back of his mind. "The cars...people..."

His head began to pound. "I was...here..." A high pitched squeal erupted from the crying. He looked up to see ahead of them a circle of police men surrounding one particular small red car. In the middle of them, in front of a car, a little girl with long black ponytails was screeching out names and gibberish, hugging her big brown teddy bear tightly as she covered her tear stained eyes.

"...Hi...Hinata..."

Kairi stepped up beside him. "Who? That girl? Shoujax, do you-?" She was cut off as Shoujax raced past her, pushing through the crowds, until he was right beside the young girl, the police completely ignoring him.

"Shoujax!" Namine called out his name as Kairi and her finally caught up to him. "What's wrong? Do you remember any-...oh." She stopped, falling silent. Kairi lowered her head. All Shoujax could do was stare, the little girl's crying echoing through his mind.

He was staring at himself.

His sleeping self, lying on the ground in front of the car with the bent bumper.

His sleeping self that wasn't going to ever wake up again.

* * *

"This is going to be harder than I thought."

Axel jumped back as the large creature slashed at him with one of its four clawed arms, reaching out from its giant body on top of its serpent hide. The head stared at him with its beady yellow eyes. Roxas and Xion stepped up beside him.

"So, hotshot," Xion spoke first, "now what do we do?" Axel frowned. "I'm thinking, I'm thinking." The creature was about thirty feet high, its arms only about half that length. Its snake tail seemed to go on forever.

It growled at them in a monotone voice. "Think faster," Roxas snapped, "it's not going to wait any longer!" The creature bellowed, and swiped at them. Roxas grabbed Xion's arm and pulled her out of the way as Axel jumped up in the air.

He landed on the back of the beat's hand as it drew it back towards its body. "Now, Axel," he turned to see Xion yelling at him, "try to weaken it!" He glanced back at it. "Easier said than done." Finally noticing its presence, it screeched at him.

"Perfect." Drawing out his Keyblade, he jumped up and, closing in, slashed at the beast's eye. It howled in pain as he landed on its head. "Yes!" He smirked, but gasped as it swung its tail out from behind, slamming him into the ground below.

The tail lifted up and hovered around as the creature held its eye in pain. "Ow..." Axel stood up, and rubbed his head. "That's gonna be sore in the morning...if I ever make it there alive." Roxas and Xion ran up to him.

"Axel!" Roxas looked even more frightened than Axel was. "Are you okay?!" Axel nodded. "Yeah, I'm cool." Xion sighed with relief. "Good. Its tail looks pretty powerful." She studied the many features of it. "What if it's too powerful for us to handle?"

"We can't give up." They both turned to Roxas. He held his Keyblade in both hands. "Our friends need us. We've gone through worst, remember? This guy's nothing for us." Axel smiled. "Alright, then, you think up the plan."

Roxas grinned. "I already have a plan made up." Xion stared at him. "Oh, yeah? And that would be...?" He smiled. "Attack it until it falls!" Axel high-fived him. "I like the way you think!" Xion groaned, but smiled.

The creature drew their attention back as it spun its tail around, and cracked its many knuckles. Xion smirked. "I think it means business." its claws lengthened out. "Whatever," Roxas readied to attack, "Axel, you get the two right arms, I'll get the left ones. Xion, you take the tail."

Nodding, they raced off as the arms crashed down in their directions. Xion lunged at the tail, slicing the end off as it disintegrated into darkness. Roxas dodged the bottom left arm as he attacked the top, and Axel set both of the beast's right arms on fire.

"I can't believe this is actually working!" Xion sounded slightly out of breath, but laughed as she sliced again, sending the tail back in recoil. The creature roared in anger, and Axel chuckled. "It's almost finished."

Suddenly, the crying sound of the beast stopped, and it froze in place. Roxas tapped it on the arm with his Keyblade, but it didn't move. Instead, it vaporized into nothing. "What?" Axel and Xion walked over to him.

"That...was unexpected." Axel looked around, astounded at the sudden emptiness around them. Only darkness lit the area, no signs of the creature anywhere. "What just happened?" Xion grinned. "We're winning! Joshua is waking up, and Xehanort is losing!"

ZIP!

Behind them, they turned to see a few hundred heartless creatures twice as big as they were pop out of the ground, all smiling with dark yellow eyes. Roxas smacked his forehead. "So much for winning." Axel shook his head. "No, this is good."

Xion moaned. "How? Hundreds of heartless isn't what I call a good sign." He winked at them. "If Xehanort has to resort to using meek heartless – albeit, with creepy smiles, - instead of using one, super powerful one, what does that say?"

Xion and Roxas exchanged curious looks, and smiled.

"We're winning!"


End file.
